Head to head · Girls' names
Raegan vs Remington
#505 vs #511 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Raegan is a whisker ahead (#505 vs #511 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Raegan leads 5 measures of 6; Remington leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1960s: Raegan #3814, Remington — — Raegan higher
- 1970s: Raegan #2815, Remington — — Raegan higher
- 1980s: Raegan #3590, Remington #12080 — Raegan higher
- 1990s: Raegan #1535, Remington #4945 — Raegan higher
- 2000s: Raegan #482, Remington #2753 — Raegan higher
- 2010s: Raegan #292, Remington #879 — Raegan higher
- 2020s: Raegan #375, Remington #425 — Raegan higher
Raegan stood higher in every recorded decade — 7 of 7.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raegan | Remington |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | #3814 | — |
| 1970s | #2815 | — |
| 1980s | #3590 | #12080 |
| 1990s | #1535 | #4945 |
| 2000s | #482 | #2753 |
| 2010s | #292 | #879 |
| 2020s | #375 | #425 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Raegan
from the Irish personal name Riagán, most often read as 'little king'
Two readings compete. The most widely repeated links Riagán to Irish rí, 'king', giving 'little king' or 'descendant of the king'. Others connect it to a root meaning 'impulsive' or 'fierce'. Neither has won; the name is old enough that its first element is genuinely obscure.
Riagán → Ó Riagáin → Regan → Reagan → Raegan
How it traveled
The name begins as Riagán, an early Irish personal name, which gave the surname Ó Riagáin — anglicized as O'Regan, Regan and Reagan, long associated with counties Cork, Limerick and Meath. Irish emigration carried the surname across the United States in the nineteenth century, where, like Ryan, Kennedy and Quinn, it eventually crossed over into use as a first name.
Remington
from an English place name: 'farmstead by the boundary stream'
The place is Rimington in Lancashire, built from Old English rima, 'rim, edge, border', and tūn, 'farmstead, settlement'. As with almost all surname-names, the meaning belongs to the village, not to any quality of a person.
Rimington (Lancashire place name) → Remington (English surname) → Remington (American given name)
How it traveled
The trail starts with a small settlement in Lancashire, named for its position on a boundary — the edge of one holding, the beginning of another. Families who came from there carried the place with them as a surname, and the surname sailed to North America, where it attached itself to two enterprises that made it a household word: the arms company founded by Eliphalet Remington in 1816, and the writing machine sold under the Remington name from the 1870s, the one that gave the world the QWERTY keyboard.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Raegan
RAY-gən
Stress on the first syllable, with the second reduced to something close to 'gun'. The related spelling Regan is sometimes said REE-gan, especially in Shakespeare; Raegan's ae signals the long A and largely prevents that.
- Rae — The standard short form, and a long-established given name in its own right, so it works on a résumé as well as at the dinner table.
- Rae-Rae — A family and playground doubling, generally used with young children and rarely carried into adulthood.
- Gan — An occasional informal clip used among siblings and close friends; uncommon.
Remington
REM-ing-tun
Stress on the first syllable. There is only one pronunciation in English, and the spelling gives it away, so it is rarely said wrong.
- Remi — The most common short form in American use, for boys and girls alike; also an independent given name in its own right, from the French Rémi.
- Remy — Same short form, the spelling more often seen for boys; likewise stands alone as a full name.
- Rem — A clipped, informal one-syllable version used at home and among friends.
- Remmy — Informal and affectionate, mostly used by family in the early years.
- Also Ronnie.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Raegan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRaegan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesRaegan is 2 syllables to Remington's 3
Choose Remington if you want…
- a name with more sound in itRemington runs 3 syllables, Raegan 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Remi, Remy and Rem
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Raegan
Strengths
- Reads correctly on sight for English speakers — the ae spelling points clearly to the long A.
- Comes with Rae, a short form that also stands alone as a full given name.
- Sits on a surname with a documented Irish line going back to the personal name Riagán.
To consider
- Reagan is the spelling most people reach for first. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections: spelling it out on forms, and finding it written the other way on coffee cups and class lists.
- The surname is strongly attached to Ronald Reagan in American ears, which for some families is a plus and for others a reason to pause. The effect fades with the respelling but does not disappear.
- In Shakespeare's King Lear, Regan is one of the treacherous daughters — a faint literary shadow that most people will not make, though English teachers may.
Remington
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to nearly every American adult from the typewriter and firearms brands, so it is almost never misspelled or mispronounced.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Remi, Remy, Rem — each of which works on its own as a full name.
- Works for a boy or a girl without alteration, in the same way surname-names like Harper and Emerson do.
To consider
- The firearms company is the strongest association the name carries for many adults, and some people will mention it. Others will think of the typewriter first, or of nothing in particular. Worth knowing that the connection exists rather than meeting it by surprise.
- It leans toward boys but is genuinely given to girls too, so the name alone will not always tell a teacher or a form-filler which is which. The smaller side of that split is the one likelier to be assumed wrong.
- Ten letters and three syllables is a lot for a young child to write, and Remi or Rem will probably do most of the daily work — which is fine, but it means choosing a short form you can live with as well.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Raegan and Remington in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Raegan and Remington?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
Where Raegan and Remington each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raegan or Remington — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raegan or Remington?
- Raegan, in 2025: Raegan ranked #505 with 589 babies; Remington ranked #511 with 580 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raegan or Remington?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Raegan moved down 246 places; Remington moved down 150 places.
- Which is the older name, Raegan or Remington?
- Raegan entered the US charts in 1963; Remington entered the US charts in 1988. On the American record, Raegan is the older name.
- How many people are named Raegan and Remington?
- About 25,000 people named Raegan are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 10,000 people named Remington are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Raegans or Remingtons in the classroom?
- Raegan will almost certainly be the only one in school. Remington will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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